Luxury Noah Walnut Backgammon Set with Ararat Outline, Dove Checkers

Luxury Noah Walnut Backgammon Set with Ararat Outline, Dove Checkers by Hrachya Ohanyan

Noah and his family stepping from the Ark among the animals — lion, ox, elephant, sheep, a dove overhead — carved in deep relief on smooth walnut under Ararat's peaks, with a cast dove on every checker. This is the 60 cm / 23.6″ luxury Armenian wooden backgammon set made by Hrachya Ohanyan, Ararat outline. Handmade in walnut and hornbeam.

This is the board for the family that tells the story every Easter, and the collector who wants the flood's end on a lid and the dove in the hand. The scene is cut deep on plain walnut: Noah with his arm raised, elders and veiled women behind him, a child on a shoulder, the animals streaming out — lion, ox, elephant, sheep — under a bare tree, a dove in the sky. Basket-weave rococo scrolls frame it, and Ararat's snow ridges rise along the top edge.

Inside, hornbeam points and petal-wheel discs are let into the walnut, with a stamped brass hinge on the bar; the back is a chequerboard of carved basket-weave squares between two eternity whirls. The checkers are the maker's dove pieces: a cast dove in flight set into each face, bronze-toned on walnut, silver on beech. For the first grandchild's christening, and the collector who wants the story down to the pieces.

Specifications

• Size open: 60 × 60 cm / 23.6″ × 23.6″
• Size folded: 60 × 30 cm / 23.6″ × 11.8″
• Material: walnut wood, natural colour, finished with natural beeswax; hornbeam inlay inside; checkers in beech and walnut with cast alloy and bronze doves
• Carving: Noah and his family leaving the Ark in deep relief on smooth walnut — Noah with his arm raised, bearded elders, veiled women, a child, a lion, an ox, an elephant, sheep, a bare tree and a dove in the sky — inside a frame of rococo scrolls filled with basket weave, with rope borders; the twin peaks of Mount Ararat with snow ridges carved on the top edge; back cover with a chequerboard of carved basket-weave squares between two eternity whirls in scrolled panels; pale hornbeam points with fleur-de-lys tips and petal-wheel discs inlaid inside; a cast dove set into every checker
• Outline: Ararat — the twin peaks of Mount Ararat along the top edge, over a scrolled body with curled corners
• Hardware: brass hinge stamped with the maker's mark, cast-bronze clasps
• Craftsmanship: entirely handmade by Hrachya Ohanyan

What's Included

• Hand-carved walnut backgammon board with hornbeam inlay, carved on both covers
• 32 beech and walnut checkers, each set with a cast dove, velvet bases
• Dice set
• Branded carrying case

Why You'll Love It

• A crowd carved in the round: Noah, his family and the animals stand off the walnut with their own shadows — a lion's mane, an elephant's ear, the folds of a veil — so the lid reads as sculpture, not a picture.
• The dove, in the hand: every checker carries a cast dove in flight, the bird that brought back the olive leaf — the maker's own dove pieces, sold separately on their own and here in the box.
• Make it theirs: add a name or a date at checkout to mark a birthday, a retirement or years of games together.

Good to Know Before You Buy

Is the scene carved or inlaid? Carved — deep relief cut into the walnut itself, figures and animals standing proud of a smooth ground, the frame of basket weave and scrolls carved with them and Ararat's ridges cut into the top edge. The only inlay is inside, where pale hornbeam is let into the walnut for the points and discs. The checkers are beech and walnut with a cast metal dove set into each top, and the board is finished with natural beeswax. Nothing is printed or applied.

How is this different from the two-sided Noah board? This board carries the Noah scene on one cover and a basket-weave chequerboard on the other, and it comes with the maker's dove checkers. The two-sided board carries a second carved scene on the back in place of the chequerboard.

What about shipping and returns? Shipping is free to the US, Canada and Europe, always tracked; other countries pay a flat $100 (Brazil, Chile and New Zealand $200). Every set is covered by our 30-day returns policy.

How do I look after it? Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from radiators. Wipe with a dry, soft cloth and store it closed in its carrying case.

About the Artist - Hrachya Ohanyan

National Master Hrachya Ohanyan began his fine woodcraft in 1985 and founded his workshop in Yerevan in 2010. This board belongs to his collection of wooden backgammon sets, each one made by hand by the craftspeople of that workshop. Read Hrachya Ohanyan's story or explore the full backgammon collection.

Also known as nardi (нарды), nardy, tavla or shesh besh.